14 Comments
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María Isabel Dabrowski's avatar

I saw turacos and knew that you'd be discussing pigments! I saw a pair of turacos in Kenya last month and I was outsizedly excited because finally! Actually green birds! I am using a lot of exclamation points here, and it is because I really was that excited! On another note, sloth moths. New idea for a Halloween costume... a sloth... and a moth. Stay tuned for how quickly my partner votes that one down. This was an amazing post, Cat, as usual.

Cat's avatar

Oh lucky you! Please tell me all the other birds you saw too! And if the sloth/moth costume is turned down, you could suggest pearlfish and sea cucumber (I'll let you decide who gets to be which one!) 😆

Dawn's avatar

Wow! That was fascinating!

Vanessa Bittermann's avatar

It has somehow escaped my notice that sloths can be green, and I'm not even color blind! Haha. How fascinating.

This was super interesting; thank you for sharing.

Hmm, my favorite green creature... I don't know if I can choose between such things as quetzals, green tree frogs, Polyphemus moth caterpillars, and juniper hairstreaks (butterflies, not moths, sorry). Green is my favorite color, of course!

Cat's avatar

Thanks for reading! Green is my favourite colour too, so I found it really hard to narrow this down and just mention a few different creatures!

Alex's avatar

This was a great read!

Cat's avatar

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

gardening_kristi's avatar

The Luna Moth, Actias luna, is my favorite green moth. It's a Saturniid, so it lives for about a week, and flies only at night. They are a rare sight but so beautiful.

Cat's avatar

Luna moths really are so beautiful. I would love to see one someday.

Dennis Chanter's avatar

Really nice post Cat, and it slots in very neatly with the next Moth Report which will feature the Burnished Brass (which you missed out!). I’ll see if I can add in a link to your post.

Cat's avatar

Thanks! I tend to think of the Burnished Brass as being more, well, brassy rather than green. I guess it can be quite green in some lights.

Dennis Chanter's avatar

Indeed, in one of my photos it appears very green, but in others it is as you say more brassy. The common names in various European languages reference various different metals, while in Swedish it actually mentions green!

Julie and Lurko in Mexico's avatar

We have lots of green birds here in western Mexico: Orange-fronted parakeets, Lilac-crowned parrots, and a little further south you can see Military Macaws. However, my favorite local green bird is the Russet-crowned Motmot. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/rucmot1/cur/introduction?lang=es

I love the long tick-tock tail that looks like a tiny pendulum from a grandfather clock.

I can't think of any green moths off the top of my head, but we do have this nifty green butterfly that loves to eat fruit: Mariposa Malaquita: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siproeta_stelenes

Cat's avatar

The russet-crowned motmot is beautiful - I love the tail too! And that butterfly is stunning.